The Goshen Gazette
February 2023
From the Principal, Mr. Graves
Greetings Goshen Lane Families!
Welcome to February, I trust everyone had a great holiday season, and that your new year is off to a great start. Last month I shared with students that the new year is the traditional time of year for setting goals; these are often consider New Year's resolutions. Students were challenged to consider making a school goal for the rest of this year. The goal could be related to their academic performance, or their social skills and study habits performance. They were also challenged to revisit the goal periodically to see what kind of progress they were making. Consider checking in with your child(ren) to see if they came up with a goal and what kind of progress they feel they are making. It is one way to help them be accountable for their success.
Title 1 Meeting
Earlier this year during our curriculum night I was able to share with those in attendance information about Goshen Lane and what it means to be a Title 1 School. For those who were not able to attend, or as a refresher to those who did attend here is the information that was shared.
What is Title I?
Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides financial assistance to states and school districts to meet the needs of educationally at-risk students.
In short, Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) provides financial assistance to schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards; most specifically in math or English/language-arts. The goal of Title I is to provide extra instructional services and activities which support academically at risk students to meet the state’s challenging performance standards.
Title I schools:
- Identify the students at their school who need the most educational assistance based on the criteria that school has chosen. Students do NOT have to be from low-income families to receive Title I services.
- Set goals for improving the skills of educationally disadvantaged students at their school.
- Measure student progress to determine the success of the Title I program for each student.
- Develop programs for each individual student in order to support/supplement regular classroom instruction.
How does our school receive Title I money?
First, the federal government provides funding to each state. Then, each State Educational Agency sends money to its school districts, districts then allocate money to Title1 eligible schools. How much money each school receives is determined by the number of low-income students attending that school.
What do Title I programs offer?
Title I programs generally offer:
- Smaller classes or special instructional spaces
- Additional teachers and aides
- Opportunities for professional development for school staff
- Extra time for teaching Title I students the skills they need
- A variety of supplementary teaching methods
- Additional teaching materials which supplement a student’s regular instruction
What will Title I programs do for my child?
The Title I program will provide academically at risk students with supplemental educational assistance beyond the regular classroom.
Title 1 at Goshen Lane
Goshen Lane offers a Targeted Assistance Program model that uses Title I funds to support its students academic success. A Targeted Assistance Program, offered through a Multi- Tiered System of Support (MTSS) centers academic and other support and related interventions and services on an identified group of students who are at risk of not meeting state standards.
Students recommended for MTSS are done so using multiple measures of academic performance. For an overview of this Title I funded program offered to students at Goshen Lane, please click the link Multi-Tiered Framework . This program is dedicated to not only closing gaps, but also bolstering students academic confidence while achieving success with our district curriculum.
Having your child enrolled in a Title 1 schools gives you the Right to Know
- Whether the teacher has met the Ohio teacher licensing criteria for the grade level and subject areas in which the teacher provides your child instruction.
- Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or temporary status that waives state licensing requirements.
- The undergraduate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate degree or certification (such as National Board Certification) held by the teacher and the field of discipline of certification or degree.
- Whether your child is provided services by instructional paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.
How can I get involved?
Parents, you can influence the success of your student in school more than any teacher or federal program. By becoming an active participant in the Title I parent involvement plan at your school, you will:
- Serve as a role model, showing your student that you support his/her education.
- Assure that you are aware of your student’s educational progress; thereby demonstrating how important that progress is to you.
- Teach your student that your input at the school is appreciated and that you support its efforts.
- Review and complete the School Parent Compact that identifies staff commitments, parent/guardian commitments and student commitments.
- Review the Parent Involvement Plan that speaks to participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities.
What does research tell us?
Research shows that how well students do in school depends a great deal upon how much their parents get involved in their education. You can become more involved by:
- Joining local and national school/parent organizations
- Supporting school extra-curricular activities
- Volunteering at the school
- Attending parent-teacher conferences
- Communicating with your student’s teacher regularly, by writing notes, telephoning the school, etc.
- Keeping your student’s teacher informed about events in his or her life which may affect his/her performance at school
- Discussing with your student’s teacher and parent organizations other ideas for parent involvement
With this Newsletter is a survey for you to complete. Please take some time to complete the survey. To access it, click on the survey link: Your feedback is very much appreciated. If you would like more information on Title 1, please contact the school office.
Title 1 Document Links
Use these links to access the referenced Title 1 information above.
- Multi-Tiered Framework
- Right to Know
- Title 1 survey (Please complete)
- School Parent Compact (Please complete if not already done so)
- Parent Involvement Plan
Goshen Guys
Calling all Goshen Guys!! Here at Goshen Lane Elementary, one of our goals is to involve positive male role models in the educational and social lives of our students. To do this, we are starting the Goshen Guys Program. We are calling all Dads, Granddads, Uncles, Cousins, Brothers, and male community members to take an active and positive role within our school community by participating in different events throughout the school year. All we ask for is a little bit of your time.
We will start with Goshen Guys Read-A-Loud! On Wednesday 2/22/23 we are asking for Goshen Guys to choose a class to read a story to! You can sign up using the link below. Please note that most of the times are 1:45PM however, a few classes may have a different time slot scheduled. If you are, or know a Goshen Guy who may be interested, please sign up today, or send this link along to them. Don’t worry if you can’t make this event or the slots fill up before you get one, we will have other opportunities. We look forward to seeing you!
The Thurber House Writing Wizards workshops are returning this February! Writing Wizards is four consecutive Saturdays of creative writing classes for students in 2nd-8th grade. The topics range from creating your own cartoons to working on an outline for your book series to writing mysteries! The workshops take place at Thurber Center, 91 Jefferson Ave. They also have a limited number of scholarships for this program. The deadline for registration is Saturday, February 18, 2023.
Attached is a one page-flier with more information. All of the information and registration is online at https://www.thurberhouse.org/writing-wizards. Parents can contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org with any questions or if you are not able to register online.
Support the Gahanna Gala
Please support the Gahanna-Jefferson Education Foundation (GJEF). The purpose of GJEF is to "Promote Excellence" by funding innovative projects beyond the traditional expenditures of the Gahanna-Jefferson Board of Education. For more information, click on the Raffle Ticket order form link below to see how you can support our school and have a chance at $1,000 cash.
This is a 50/50 Raffle! That means that Goshen Lane Elementary will receive 50% back on the total amount of raffle tickets purchased by Goshen Lane families and friends. The drawing is 2/25/23, and you do not have to be present to win. Anyone can purchase. Go to Raffle Ticket order form to print the order form. Please complete, cut off the section below and send back to school with your child by February 16th. We will fill out the raffle tickets for you and send back your portion of the ticket. Thank you for your generous support of Goshen Lane and the Gahanna-Jefferson Education Foundation!
Happening in February
- February 8 - Golden Opportunity Breakfast, 7:30 a.m.
- February 10 - Valentine's Day Celebrations
- February 14 - PTA Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
- February 16 - End of 2nd Trimester
- February 17 - Teacher Professional Development Day (No School for Students)
- February 24 - Report Cards Released to Parents
- February 27 - Kindergarten Registration Begins
- February 28 - Parent Teacher Conference Night
- March 2 - Parent Teacher Conference Night
- March 3 - Teacher Comp Day (No School for Students)
Goshen Lane Elementary School
Email: gravesd@gjps.org
Website: https://gahannaschools.org/Schools/Goshen_Lane_Elementary/goshen_lane_home.aspx
Location: 370 Goshen Lane, Gahanna, OH, USA
Phone: 614-478-5580
Twitter: @GoshenLane